Menu Close

SOGGY RIVER MONSTER (TIKBALANG)

I am currently running an Oriental Adventures (OA) campaign called The Divine Heir and the Jade Regent loosely based around the Pathfinder Adventure Path the Jade Regent with strong influences from Sekiro.  The first adventure is called The Ashina Legacy and is essentially the The Brinewall Legacy set in and completely converted to an OA setting.

I had to rewrite the adventure intro and re-theme the monsters but it worked well.  Here is the flowchart of the adventure (and campaign).

This is a fiendish tikbalang – a Pilipino monster.  The creature lives in Omikura swamp. The PCs wisely avoided the creature at all costs when they encountered it at level 1. The swamp falls under their demnese now so they may need to deal with it sooner rather than just ignoring it.

It’s essentially a converted and reskinned Sandpoint Devil.  When I saw the art first thing that came to mind was the tikbalang.


FIENDISH TIKBALANG
Large monstrosity (fiend), neutral evil
Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 90 (12d10 + 24)
Speed 40 ft., fly 60 ft.
STR                 DEX                CON                INT                 WIS                CHA

17 (+3)        16 (+3)        15 (+2)        5 (-3)           20 (+5)        6 (-2)
Skills Perception+8
Damage Resistances cold, lightning; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that are not cold iron
Damage Immunities fire
Condition Immunities Frightened
Senses darkvision60 ft., passive Perception 15
Languages understands Abyssal but can’t speak
Challenge 8 (3,900 XP)

Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the fiendish tikbalang has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

Trampling Charge. If the fiendish tikbalang moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and then hits it with a hooves attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is prone, the fiendish tikbalang can make another hooves attack against it as a bonus action.

Innate Spellcasting. The fiendish tikbalang’s spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 11). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

ACTIONS
Multiattack. The fiendish tikbalang makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its hooves.

Rending Bite. Melee Weapon Attack:+6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) piercing damage, plus 22 (4d10) psychic damage if the target is frightened. This attack ignores damage resistance.

Hooves. Melee Weapon Attack:+6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target.
Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage plus 7 (2d6) fire damage.

Bay (Recharge 6). The fiendish tikbalang emits a keening howl in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in that area that isn’t deafened must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the end of the fiendish tikbalang’s next turn. While a creature is frightened in this way, its speed is halved, and it is incapacitated. A target that successfully saves is immune to the bay of all tikbalangs for the next 24 hours.

Fire Breath (Recharge 5–6). The dragon exhales fire in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, taking 21 (6d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Any creature that fails the save also has disadvantage on attack rolls, saves, ability checks, and skill checks. This effect lasts for a number of days equal to the damage taken but is otherwise can be removed with a remove cursespell.

REACTIONS
Tik Tik Boom! When the fiendish tikbalang is first bloodied its Bay ability recharges and it uses it.

TACTICS

  • Before Combat. Delighting in the fear of its prey, the Sandpoint devil prefers to enter combat under the shroud of night and magically created fog. It terrorizes its foes further by baying, circling overhead, or allowing lone wanderers to momentarily glimpse its form.
  • During Combat.As soon as its foes are suitably skittish the Sandpoint devil charges into battle, trampling victims and catching as many as possible in a blast of its hellfire breath.
  • The Sandpoint devil flees if reduced to fewer than 15 hit points.

LAIR
It lairs in the caves within the swamp. It is very rarely “home” at night. 

DESCRIPTION
An unnatural amalgam of loathsome animal parts, this mangy beast skulks forward—walking perversely upright—on the rear legs of a powerful horse. Its body and head grossly equine, the torn wings of some giant bat sprout from the thing’s poxspotted hide. Calloused, milky eyes glare balefully from a nearly skeletal head as a rasping hiss escapes a muzzle filled with broken yellow wolf teeth.

The Soggy Bog Monster will stalk the players initially – baying and then using dimension door to move and bay again. PCs catch glimpses of red eyes every time fog moves in. They start having bad dreams and so on.

TREASURE
+2 Spirit Emblem.

 

Posted in 5e, Dungeons & Dragons, Monstrous Compendium, Oriental Adventures, The Ashina Legacy, The Divine Heir and the Jade Regent

Leave a Reply